The sunset painted the sky in various shades of red, orange, and purple. The sun was slowly lowering behind a bridge in the far distance.
Metabee didn't pay attention to the picture-perfect scene. He was too busy trying to skip rocks and utterly failing at it.
"How come Ikki can do this and I can't?" Metabee growled.
He was at the river alone; the search yielded no results and they separated late that evening with Koji mentioning something about it being a massive waste of his time. As if the pretentious brat had anything better to do.
Metabee picked a pebble up, adjusted his angle a little, and threw. The tiny stone managed one pathetic hop before promptly plummeting under the water. The yellow 'Bot was satisfied with that - but not by much.
He abruptly sat on the ground and held his head in his hands, watching the river flow towards the sea. "This sucks! What am I supposed to tell Ikki's parents? 'That fool got himself lost in a park and I can't find a trace of him?' Yeah, like they'll buy that!" Metabee fumed.
"Calm down," a voice called, "how will panicking help your situation?"
Metabee turned around, startled, "just how are you in the most convenient places at the right time?"
The salesman smiled, "that is my secret."
Metabee stood up and crossed his arms, "whatever you say - and no, I don't want your chicks."
The salesman sheepishly put one of them back.
"What do you want anyway?" Metabee snapped gruffly.
The salesman just looked at Metabee before offering a friendly smile, "Would you mind keeping an old man company?"
Metabee was about let loose a scathing reply before biting it back. He gave a sigh and tried to release pent up energy, "I guess it won't hurt." He approached and plopped down next to the man.
"Why do you seem to be so upset?"
"Isn't it obvious? My Medafighter's gone! He could be hurt, or experimented on, or... or..." Metabee declined to imagine the last scenario. He involuntarily shuddered.
"I see, it's a grave situation your friend is in. My question is, what are you doing about it?"
"I tried everything I could think of! I can't contact him, I can't find a trace of him anywhere!" Metabee started shivering slightly, his storming emotions were becoming hard to contain again, "I don't know what to do..."
"Did your friend ever give up on you when you were in the same situation?"
"Well, no, but-"
"Why are you so close to giving up now?"
"I'm NOT!" Metabee jumped to his feet, rage spilling over.
"Son, turn your rage into passion and make use of a cool head; are you sure you saw nothing? Remain calm and remember."
Metabee blinked, trying to think. He sifted through memories and came across a particularly fuzzy one. "Wait, it was a guy who knocked me out... Couldn't see him clearly, but I think he had blond hair? And some sort of mark was on his face, I think."
"Good. Use that to your advantage."
"I... This is the first time you've been straightforward."
The old man smiled, "I have my moments. Now, go. I have a feeling your friend is much closer than you think."
Metabee regarded him for a moment before nodding and walking off. Venting felt a little better now that he got everything off his chestplates, but he still felt doubt in the back of his mind.
Perhaps another sweep in the area wouldn't be a bad idea.
Ikki opened his eyes slowly, before snapping to his senses and jerked up. Around him, the sky held millions of stars - some twinkling while the rest merely blazed.
That didn't seem right, he never saw this many stars back near his home.
Home...
Ikki then noticed he was back at the site where that man abducted him from. Perhaps he wasn't what they wanted and rejected him. Whatever the case may be, Ikki was ecstatic. "Aw yeah! I can go home!"
Suddenly remembering Metabee, Ikki darted towards the brush, "Metabee! Where are you? Don't tell me you were conked out the entire time! We gotta go home before Mom grounds the both of us!"
It slowly dawned on Ikki that there was absolutely no sound. No insects, no sounds of angry traffic, nothing. Unsure, he came to a halt, slowly looking around him. The area seemed to be more and more out of a dream.
It was like existing in a void.
With that thought taking root inside his mind, his heart slowly sank as he gave up. It was just a dream; so much for freedom.
Suddenly, the bushes started rustling - the first sounds Ikki heard - and a Medabot stepped through. He blinked as he tried to process what he was seeing. The Medabot looked like an exact copy of Metabee. Except for the inverted color scheme - which black was prevailing with some white in places - it was the same type, same build (had Metabee kept his old armor) and everything. Probably except personality.
Nobody had a hair trigger temper like Metabee.
The Medabot looked around curiously - like the place triggered something important that it only knew. It walked slower than before, taking no notice of Ikki. It looked at its hands with bewilderment.
"Wh-what's this?" The words had a distinct echo. Yep, definitely a dream, either that or Ikki was beginning to go deaf. No big deal, he grumpily thought.
'Wait, is it me or does that sound kind of like-' Whatever thought that flitted through his mind was cut off as the area disappeared with the speed of a fingersnap.
I kki was left sitting in a white void, mouth gaping. "What the-! What happened now?"
"That robot you just saw is very special."
A figure came out of nowhere dressed in a dark robe with a hood that hid the person's face in shadow, "he is born with the power to bring doom upon your world or save it."
Ikki stood up, " oh yeah? And what does that have to do with me? What does any of this have to do with me?" He spread his arms as he spoke. Anger pulsed through his body; he wanted answers and he was going to get them.
"A lot more than you think. My reason for coming to you is to administer a warning: those people who imprison you seek to bring about the end of the world as you know it. It is important that they are prevented from reaching that goal," he stated gravely.
"What am I supposed to do about it? I'm only 12! I can't do anything about the end of the world!" Ikki started to sweat, which was a feat in itself since he was corporeal, and shake slightly.
Sure, he had already stopped a madman from taking over the world, but if it weren't for Metabee and the others, he wasn't sure he could have succeeded. "Why come to me?" He asked.
"I've come to give you a message from beyond... I trusted you once, I know you can accomplish this task."
"Wait, you trusted me once? Who are you?"
"That isn't important, dear child. What you must focus on is the task at hand."
"If you're not pulling my leg - heck, if you're even real, you want me to tell someone who'll stop it," Ikki sighed.
"Whatever you have the ability to do."
"Okay, but in case you don't know, I'm stuck in a cell - I can't get out," Ikki replied sardonically.
The messenger chuckled, "look around and about you - you might just discover something."
Ikki didn't respond but sank back down on the "floor" and held his head. But he sat down for less than five seconds before everything started turning hazy and distorted.
"What's happening?" Ikki asked, already getting disoriented and, strangely, sick.
"You are waking up. You will not be permitted to remember me or this place, only my warning. Be sure to heed it," His voice took on a hard edge.
Ikki woke up to a feverish headache and sweat covering his body. He clutched his head as he grumbled with pain, "ow, what the heck?"
He pushed himself up from his cot and looked at his watch. 01:30 stared back at him in glowing green digits, the only light in the pitch darkness around the boy. Ikki sighed and fell back down letting his thoughts wander.
...Wait...
Ikki could remember the strange warning - that was practically etched in stone - but whoever was the messenger Ikki could not recall.
It didn't matter anyway, he needed to be focused at the task at hand: hatching an escape plan again.
Of course, he remembered watching people pick locks in some movies and had tried it himself once or twice. But he had never succeeded and eventually gave up the whole thing. Especially since his mother caught him and scolded him sternly.
Metabee never let him live that down.
Ikki shook his head, 'Focus.'
He suddenly stopped his train of thought and was intrigued. He sat up and jammed his hand into one of his pockets, digging up a little pocket lint, and eventually found what he was looking for.
A hair pin. At least it felt like one. Ikki grinned like a lunatic.
He slowly approached the door of the old cell while being sure to keep his hands in front of him. No use slamming into something and: a) knocking himself out and/or b) making too much noise. Once he reached the entrance of his cell, Ikki pushed his hands through the bars and felt alongside the door for the lock. He quietly slipped the pin into the lock, trying to turn it in different directions and straining his ears for a click.
It seemed like forever (in reality it was only minutes) when Ikki was finally rewarded with the telltale click. A horrendously loud one that seemed to shatter the still darkness...but a click nonetheless.
Ikki was worried that it was enough to attract guards and land him in bigger trouble, but a minute passed and Ikki didn't hear so much as a sound let alone a watchman or two.
Ikki could hardly keep from laughing obnoxiously and victoriously at his feat, but he decided to save the celebrating for later. After all, escaping from a locked room was only half the battle.
He couldn't help but feel like a blind man as he felt his way through the room and carefully checked for any trip wires or some trap lying around. After a few minutes, Ikki made it to the hallway and turned on the flashlight feature on his watch and shone it around, checking for any signs leading to the exit.
'Jeez, what's with the lack of security around here? You'd think they would keep a better eye on the place or something.' Ikki thought wryly. A sudden bout of paranoia hit him like a tidal wave and he hoped there was no night-vision cameras.
His heart rate increased and decreased as he went on, wary of each dark corner that seemed to beckon him over. The unnatural silence hung over the base like a thick fog.
Ikki almost had a heart attack when he thought he heard voices coming out of a room. He froze, then chided himself for being so jumpy. He shone his makeshift flashlight towards a door that lead to... ruins?
The door wasn't like the others.
Whereas the doors further in the base looked more technologically advanced, this door was made out of stone and was open - which Ikki wasn't sure whether that was a good thing or not. He walked in and shone his watch on the walls getting a sudden sense of déjà vu. The faint light revealed the answer and he froze.
Ancient pictures of Medabots were scattered across the wall and in different positions. He located Rokusho, Sumilidon, Peppercat, and Metabee... 'I know where I am!' He realized with a degree of relief. If he could remember the path to entrance, he could-
He heard a boot scuff against the ground. 'You have got to be kidding me.'
"Like the pretty pictures?" An amused voice asked, "I mean, they're a bit rough, but still."
Ikki whirled around with a sinking heart. He was so close...
The light landed on Ex taking off his night-vision goggles with a smirk on his face, "you were actually stupid enough to think you could get away from us so easily? You got a lot to learn about this place, kid. We weren't born yesterday."
'Why do escape attempts always have to go wrong?' Ikki groaned.
Author's Note:
Edited: 08/08/18
Well, that chapter was actually not too bad to write.
First of all, the section with Metabee and the chick salesman? Well, I totally stink at any sort of advice so please have mercy on me!
This story takes place after the anime, including Spirits, so I headcanon Ikki to being 12 years old at the time (I consider season 3 to take place 2 years after season 2).
I hoped you like the longish chapter! I will try to keep going up with each chapter I write.
Anyway, the next chapter will be up soon.
-Winterbornbree